How to Love an Imperfect Kitchen

In an age where the kitchen in a house is the entertaining hub and the place anyone visiting seems to spend the most time, I sometimes find it hard not to compare my kitchen to friends’ gorgeous kitchens (online and in real life) and feel a little “womp, womp…” about mine. If I were starting from scratch or my kitchen needed a gut job, there are definitely things I would do differently. I would take down a bit of wall and create an “L” shape so I could have upper and lower cabinets and more perimeter counter space. I would move the island perpendicular to where it is now. I would situate the sink so it looked out over the back yard.

I think we have all heard the phrase, “Comparison is the thief of joy,” and, man, was I feeling that after awhile looking at other kitchens and thinking about all the things that were “wrong” with mine. Things I couldn’t change unless I was going to rip out everything and spend $100,000+ to do it all over. That was never part of the plan when we bought this house, though, so I had to come up with some ideas for facelifting that would have major impact on a much smaller budget. I also had to decide to look at the positive and embrace the good instead of allowing myself to focus on what I couldn’t have. And you know what? Two years and a lot of hard work later, I really do love my imperfect kitchen. Here’s how I came to love what I have and how I chose the changes I would make.

USE YOUR KITCHEN FOR AWHILE

If you are not going to gut your kitchen, use it for awhile before making any major changes. I didn’t anticipate removing the wall ovens and replacing the island cooktop with a full range when we bought this house, but after cooking in the kitchen for awhile, it drove me nuts having the ovens on the far side of the kitchen from my main work area. The basic work triangle was great – cooktop, sink, refrigerator – but the ovens were in no man’s land. A relatively easy solution was cutting out the cabinets under the cooktop and sliding a full range into that space, therefore adding an oven to the work triangle area. I did my research too, and spent months looking at ranges before I found one with the perfect mix of efficiency, precision, and space.

When we first saw the kitchen in this house, the one structural change I wanted to make was to open up the wall between the kitchen and family room.

Turns out this was a great reminder of the best laid plans going awry. Our contractor poked a hole in the wall to see inside and there were pipes and wires all over where we wanted to open. We could either leave things as they were or pay a lot extra to have electricians and plumbers reroute everything. It wound up being a more costly piece of the puzzle than we’d thought but it made a tremendous difference in making the kitchen and family rooms feel open to each other and I have never regretted spending the money on doing things this way.

We had to choose whether to spend the money on this one big piece of the kitchen updates or use it somewhere else, like on a new island counter. Since I could refinish the butcher block island but there was no way to open up the wall without the extra work, we decided that was the better use of that money. The open wall has had much more impact than a new counter would have had.

A more costly upgrade but still just cosmetic (meaning nothing major moved, just got a new look) was replacing the sink, surrounding counter, and faucet. These items cost more than paint, hardware, and lighting, but we still saved money by keeping plumbing exactly where it was, and this was a great way to get the look I wanted of a white farmhouse sink and white counter without replacing the majority of the kitchen.

FIND SIMPLE SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS

One issue I had some trouble wrapping my head around was the lack of perimeter counter space, where I would typically keep a toaster oven, coffee maker, paper towel holder, etc. These items didn’t look right sitting out on the island counter, which is very spacious, but if I set them all on the counter by the sink, I’d be eating up my main work and prep space. A simple solution was to add some floating shelves off the side cabinet panel around the refrigerator. Doing this cost next to nothing but gave me almost that entire counter section by the sink free and clear to use.

CHOOSE TO SEE THE GOOD

I also think, in the end, you can make all the changes you can conceive of, but if you don’t choose to see the good and come to peace with the imperfect you will never feel content. I want my home to be a place where I feel content so I have chosen to focus on the good and enjoy the changes I’ve made and it’s amazing how many positives present themselves when you shift your mind that way. I don’t have a sink that looks out a window, but it does look over the family room where I can watch my daughters while I prepare food. I don’t have a 36″ range with a big fancy hood against the wall but I have an island range that allows me to face my family and friends when they are sitting at the counter while I cook. I think, in general, there is usually good to be found if you look for it.

I absolutely love your kitchen! It is perfect to me :) I was wondering where you keep your toaster oven or a microwave. Maybe you don’t use one? I use a very small microwave which sits on my counter, but it is really only used minimally (like to heat up coffee). Also, was it a conscious decision to have your trim or kick plates under your cabinets black? I think it looks really sharp and modern. Thanks!

Jennifer@TheChroniclesofHome

Thanks for the very nice compliments, Alison! The cabinets next to the wine and beverage fridges hold the microwave and toaster oven. The location isn’t the most convenient but I’m used to it now and it was the best solution given the layout of the kitchen. There was an outlet already in there for them.

Jennifer@TheChroniclesofHome

Oh, and YES to the toe kick question! I left them black both because I liked the look of the black edge against the white cabinets and because the black will be more forgiving of scuffs and marks than white.

http://www.outoflagos.blogspot.com yettie

You’re absolutely right about this. I moved into a 50 yr old townhouse and the kitchen made me want to stick a fork in my eyeballs. Since this was not an option, I’ve been making little changes that have a big cosmetic impact and the impact has been great for me. Changing lighting fixtures was a big one

Jennifer@TheChroniclesofHome

Those cosmetic changes can go such a long way, and if you have good bones, it’s a great way to save tons of money over a full kitchen renovation!

http://boxycolonial.com/ Gretchen@BoxyColonial

I’ve loved many an imperfect kitchen in my day ;). Yours is beautiful….you’ve made great decisions in there!

Jennifer@TheChroniclesofHome

Haha, well isn’t that the truth – me too! So many imperfect kitchens… This is my favorite imperfect one yet though :)

http://boxycolonial.com/ Gretchen@BoxyColonial

I’ve loved many an imperfect kitchen in my day ;). Yours is beautiful….you’ve made great decisions in there!